Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ORION

" M iko!" I cried, collapsing onto my backside. I was winded and a little dizzy, though there was no more yeti song messing with my system.

Overwhelming dread took over, along with a sprinkle of bemusement.

"Orion?"

Had I really removed Dawn from Miko's body through our connection? And what had it been doing inside him in the first place?

Wow. I clutched my chest and took steady breaths, trying to bring my heart rate down.

"What are you doing?"

The yeti's voice forced me to look up. She loomed over me, Wendy dangling from her little finger by her gold chain and swinging like a pendulum, the digital bee still sleeping on the screen.

"Who is Miko?" she demanded, her eyes wide and terrifying.

I slid my hand across the floor, my fingers finding a bone shard. I shaped my dread into strength, ready to fight again.

"I asked you a question, fae." Erna huffed, a huge gray tongue running along her upper lip.

Gripping the bone tightly, I took the opportunity to stab her in the thigh, driving the pointed edge through fur and flesh with everything I had until it burst out of the other side.

Erna roared and staggered backward.

I got to my feet.

"You bastard!" she screamed, trying to pull the shard out. She dropped Wendy in her struggle.

Yes! The queen bee bounced across the floor, landing at my feet as if guided by the stars.

Thank you! I yelled in my head, quickly picking her up.

The yeti hunched over, blood trickling down her furry leg. She couldn't get purchase on the shard—her fingers were too big. "How could you do this to me? Gah! Get out of me!"

I slipped Wendy into my pocket, then found myself another bone shard. Erna being injured wasn't enough. The sounds of her breathing offended my sensibilities.

"Traitor. User. I should've let the undying ones kill you."

She didn't hear me coming, only realizing it was too late as I drove the shard into her neck. It went straight through the soft point I'd been hoping for.

The yeti blinked at me as I jumped back. She reached for the bone, her big hands trembling as much as my entire body. Sweat poured down my face, my spine, my chest on fire.

Who did I ask for a time-out?

Erna tried speaking, coughing up blood instead. A nasty gurgle came out of her mouth as she staggered to the wall, clawing at her neck.

I struggled to breathe, to do anything but watch this play out.

She slammed into the wall, pawing at the mud. Her arm knocked into a torch. It wobbled, then fell from the sconce, landing at her feet. Her fur went up in flames with a woosh .

Stars!

She slid to the floor without a sound, the fire swallowing her in bright ball. Her body slumped to the side, flames spreading outward into the chamber.

Oh, pixie balls. Apparently, this place was a lot more flammable than it should be.

Time to go.

I ran, leaping over the fire before it blocked the two potential exits. But which one took me outside, and which one trapped me in Erna's bedroom?

The fire climbed the walls, making quick progress. In less than a minute, this place would be an inferno.

I checked the right door first for any signs of escape, getting nothing. Thankfully, the cold air greeted me in the left one after taking a few steps into impenetrable darkness. Those steps turned into a cautious run through a tunnel, me praying for no deadly spike pits or hanging roots to upset my escape.

I ran into thin air, my heart stopping for a few seconds, hands outstretched and grasping for, well, anything.

I began to fall.

Oh. Crap.

My lower body slammed into solid mud wall, my hands on a flat surface. Immediately, I clawed at the cracks I felt, slipping into a pit of some sort.

Sneaky yeti.

Stupid me for putting the spike pit suggestion out there.

I locked my grip into a substantial crack, stopping the slide, pulling myself up with a billion prayers to the stars.

Please don't fall. Please don't fall. Please don't fall.

My boots bumped something pointy below.

Yes, definitely a spike pit for any potential intruders.

Or for those trying to escape.

Prayers answered, I dragged myself out of the pit, getting back on my feet. I didn't have time to contemplate any other threats ahead because of the fire.

Clinging to courage, I carried on. The darkness didn't let up, this tunnel not a place for a fae without the ability to see in the dark. The air grew colder the further I went, but there was still no sign of light.

I kept my hands outstretched, moving with cautious haste. Smoke followed me, stinging my eyes and the back of my throat.

Come on, feet!

I hit a wall, my palms sliding across ice. How lucky I didn't break a finger.

I followed the turn, coming to another and then the best sight in the world.

Moonlight.

Rather than collapse and sob in gratitude, I carried on, inching closer and closer to the beacon of hope, more of the tunnel coming into focus under the lunar light. It was covered in ice, no spike pits, just a smooth journey out into the cold air.

I waded into snow, the surface sparkling in the super bright moonlight. It came up to my waist, slowing me down. But I kept going until I put enough distance between myself and the cave, finding a boulder in the sea of white to climb onto.

Phew!

I collapsed on the rock, sprawled out like a starfish for a much-needed pause. Snow fell gently from the cloudy sky, flakes cooling my hot, sweaty face.

Bliss.

I tested the connection to my mate . "Miko? Are you okay?"

I'd know if he wasn't.

I was so sure of it.

Please be okay, Mr. Robot…

After a few failed attempts to reach him, I sat up, cooling down to the point of shivering. I wrapped my arms around myself, inspecting my surroundings as fear for my mate dug its claws into me.

He's okay. I'd know if he wasn't…

A ring of trees lined this wide clearing, as dead as the rest of this forest. Erna's cave entrance jutted out of the snow in the shape of a hood—one that belonged to a giant buried up to its head. Smoke billowed from it in a dark stream.

A potential signal to other yetis? Break time would have to wait. The last thing I wanted was a second round of yeti wars.

I got to my feet, taking in more of the scene. The ground beyond the cave sloped downward into the trees. Behind me, it inclined, and to my left and right it stayed relatively flat.

Hmmm. Without any sense of direction, my anxiety mocked me. I hated being lost. I hated this biting cold.

"I have to move," I told myself aloud. "Pick a direction."

A yeti's roar destroyed the silence, sending me back into the snow. I swallowed a yelp, drawing on my stores of determination to run up the incline.

"Fire!" a loud voice bellowed. "Fire at Erna's place!"

Another roar came from up ahead, heavy footfalls forcing me to stop.

Oh no.

The male yeti crashed through the trees, plowing through the snow. "Fire! Fire! Fire!"

I ducked out of sight in a me-shaped hole, the dial of terror on maximum yikes.

"Save her!" the yeti cried, getting closer. "Save?—"

"What's going on?" a female voice called from my left.

"Can't you see?" the male replied.

"Curses!" the female hollered. "Erna!"

A chorus of roars tore the air, the two yetis near me making the ground shake, snow collapsing around me. I kept low, their heavy breathing dangerously close.

They suddenly stopped, sniffing deeply.

"What is it?" the male asked.

"I smell something. Fae…"

Great big sweaty pixie balls!

Grim reality struck me with an iron fist. My wading had left a trail leading right to me. Never mind my scent, I'd carved a route right to me.

It didn't take them long to find me, both their heads blocking out the moonlight.

"Fae," the female yeti said. "Told you."

"Did you start the fire?" the male asked, sniffing at me. "Yes. You did. I can smell Erna all over you."

"He hurt her," the female added. "All they ever do is hurt her when she only seeks love."

The male chuffed in irritation. "What's wrong with yetis?"

I wouldn't get past them quickly enough. Their arms were too long, too big, their bodies huge furry walls trapping me in a prison of my own making.

"Kill him," the female said. "Pull the murderer apart."

The male reached for me, his lips spread menacingly. I shoved myself back into the snow, scrambling to get away.

The female chuckled. "No point in running."

The thunderous stampede of other yetis arriving sent tremors through the ground.

I'm doomed.

I'm doomed.

I'm doomed.

The yeti paused, cocking his head to the side. He stared at me, his mouth falling open. His tongue slid out, hanging there like a dead gray slug.

My bladder twinged, the stage set for me to pee my pants.

"What are you doing?" the female asked. "Drag him out."

The male stared on, his breathing slowing, his eyes unblinking.

"Stop messing around."

Those yellow irises turned pink, a cloud of pink smoke streaming from his mouth.

"Stars…" I breathed.

Dawn was here again.